EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (WITN) - Watching sea turtles hatch is a favorite for many beachgoers at Emerald Isle.

“We got to have the kids out and see it. I believe it was last Labor Day,” Emerald Isle resident Dustin Allen says. “There was a huge boil of about 80 turtles that came out. It was beautiful.”

According to Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol, this year has started off strong for the 23 nests along the coast, but Hurricane Erin could threaten their progress.

“We were expecting high tides, and a lot of our nests unfortunately, yesterday went underwater, or severely washed over,” Program Coordinator Dale Baquer says.

She says now all they can do is wait and see if the damage was enough to stop the nests from hatching.

“We do lose a lot of nests by high tide events.”

Baquer says they had

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